All Features articles – Page 2
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Emily Sun on recording the Korngold and Kats-Chernin violin concertos
Australian violinist Emily Sun speaks to Jessica Duchen about channelling the golden-age tenor Caruso in her recording of Korngold’s filmic Violin Concerto, which she has paired with Elena Kats-Chernin’s own movie-inspired new work
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolinist Ray Chen: Making the connection
Global violinist Ray Chen’s mission is to connect people through music. He speaks to Amanda Holloway about his work both on and off the concert platform – through his Tonic practice app, his social media presence and his new album
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Premium ❘ FeatureShaping a century of music: Curtis Institute centenary
As it celebrates its 100th anniversary this autumn, the Philadelphia-based Curtis Institute retains its unique status as a centre not only for high-level training but for the education of the whole artist. Thomas May discovers the revered conservatoire’s rigorous standards and personalised approach
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Premium ❘ FeatureScandinavian Cello School: The road to Vienna
From rural Denmark to Vienna’s Musikverein, Rita Fernandes discovers the Scandinavian Cello School’s distinctive educational ethos while on tour with its cello octet
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Premium ❘ Feature100 years of cellist Christopher Bunting: ‘The truth of one’s nature has the last word’
British cellist Christopher Bunting brought an unwavering authenticity to his art as a performer, and as a renowned pedagogue he had the drive and generosity to help others achieve the same in their own playing. On the centenary of his birth, his daughter, violinist and teacher Philippa Bunting, considers his ...
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Premium ❘ FeatureWhere science meets art: Positioning the f-holes
Inspired by the work of the illustrious Cremonese masters, Alvin Thomas King presents a practical method for modern-day luthiers to position the f-holes on an instrument
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: composer Ailbhe McDonagh and violinist Lynda O’Connor on The Irish Four Seasons
Composer Ailbhe McDonagh and violinist Lynda O’Connor talk to Harry White about The Irish Four Seasons, a new work inspired by Vivaldi’s masterpiece, and their approach to recording it alongside its namesake
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Premium ❘ FeatureBass instinct: a new generation of double bass players
The Strad speaks to five double bassists who are helping to shape a multifaceted and forward-looking new generation of players
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Premium ❘ FeatureA Stradivarian bow: a jewel of four facets
Recent research on the 17th- and 18th-century bows in the collection of the Musée de la Musique in Paris led to the attribution of a bow stick to the Stradivari workshop. Marie-Ève Geeraert and Jean-Philippe Échard shed some light on their discovery of this one-of-a-kind artefact
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolinist Rachel Podger: Music from every angle
The celebrated British violinist and Baroque and Classical specialist Rachel Podger chats with Tom Stewart about her new guest director role, her approach to teaching Baroque playing and striving to create an exciting musical experience for her audiences
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Premium ❘ FeatureRaising the bar: Bass-bar experiments
Joseph Curtin reports on a series of experiments at the 2023 Oberlin Acoustics Workshop, which attempted to ascertain the acoustic effects of altering the height and scoop of the violin’s bass-bar
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolinist Samuel Grimson: a life of triumph and tragedy
British violin virtuoso Samuel Grimson had his playing career cut short by a wartime accident in 1918, but he went on to co-author a groundbreaking book that paved the way for modern violin teaching. Clifford Hall explores his life
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Premium ❘ FeatureSerge Koussevitzky: 150 years of the double bass virtuoso and conductor
July 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Serge Koussevitzky – the Russian-born double bass virtuoso turned music director, educator and mentor. Fellow double bassist and conductor Leon Bosch examines his hugely influential life
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolinist Daniel Rowland reflects on his career
Dutch–British violinist Daniel Rowland has had multiple strands to his career – among them soloist, concertmaster, festival director and quartet leader. He speaks with David Kettle about trusting himself to make meaningful connections and go with the flow
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Premium ❘ FeatureRemembering Ida Haendel: Grande dame of the violin
Following Ida Haendel’s death at the age of 96 in July 2020, Tully Potter surveys the career of an exceptional performer and a remarkable woman. From September 2020
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: the Takács Quartet on re-recording Schubert
For the Takács Quartet, re-recording two of Schubert’s string quartets, albeit with a new line-up, has been an eye-opening experience, as first violinist Edward Dusinberre and violist Richard O’Neill tell Charlotte Gardner
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Premium ❘ FeatureA closer look: Examining the ‘Salabue, Martzy’ violin
The Strad’s lutherie consultant Philip Ihle put together this month’s poster of the ‘Salabue, Martzy’. Here he points out several extra details to help luthiers make an exact copy of the instrument
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Premium ❘ FeatureResplendent harmony: Carlo Bergonzi ‘Salabue, Martzy’ violin 1733
The 1733 ‘Salabue, Martzy’ is one of the finest instruments by Carlo Bergonzi in existence. Jason Price examines the violin and looks at its travels over the past 300 years
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Premium ❘ FeatureBridging the decades: Bridges from the archive
Instrument bridges have become pretty much standardised in the modern era, but in days of yore they came under as much scrutiny as strings, mutes and chin rests. These advertisements taken from the first half of The Strad ’s history testify to their designers’ ingenuity
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Premium ❘ FeatureThe Henschel Quartet: ‘Music will never let you down’
The Henschel Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary this season. Co-founder and violist Monika Henschel-Schwind speaks to Andrew Stewart about the group’s longevity, and looks forward to the premiere of Freda Swain’s neglected ‘Norfolk’ String Quartet at Aldeburgh this summer
